Using color research to redefine color strategy
Year
2024
Category
Product planning/ CMF research
Role
Product planning / Research lead
Starting from a single consumer color-preference study, I overturned the high-saturation assumption behind the previous generation's colors, led the color direction across two product generations, and tracked how reception shifted after each launch.
01
The Problem
Aesthetics and practicality are hard to balance in almost any product decision, and motorcycle color selection faces the same dilemma. The most eye-catching colors look great in an ad shoot, but that visual impact often fails to translate into actual sales. That was exactly what happened with our first generation. Its signature colors leaned toward highly saturated, vivid tones, but the market response fell short of our expectations. So we went back to one basic question:
Did customers actually want the "eye-catching" look we assumed they wanted?
GENERATION 1 —
SIGNATURE COLORS #1
GENERATION 1 —
SIGNATURE COLORS #2
GENERATION 2 —
SIGNATURE COLORS #1
GENERATION 2 —
SIGNATURE COLORS #2
02
Research approach
To answer that, I ran a color-preference survey with our target users. I tested three vehicle colors, each at three saturation levels, and asked respondents how strongly they preferred each one. Showing real colors kept the comparison concrete instead of turning it into an abstract question about taste.
The choice that made this study useful was designing it around why, not just what. Knowing which color scored highest wasn't enough. I needed to know what made people choose it.
I then cross-referenced the responses by model, gender, and age group, so no single segment could skew the conclusions.
A
B
C
03
Findings
Two clear signals came out of the cross-analysis:
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When choosing a color, respondents overwhelmingly cited "it suits me" as their top reason, far ahead of visibility-driven reasons such as standing out on the road.
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In the overall preference ranking, low-saturation, low-brightness Morandi tones scored noticeably higher than the high-saturation palette.
This is where designing for why paid off. The follow-up questions showed that our target users saw their scooters as an accessory, an extension of their personal style. They weren't choosing a color to stand out on the road.
They were choosing one that matched the way they dress.
“...This is more suitable for me... ”
"This series could match my dresses"
04
Strategy
Drawing on this insight, I recommended that the design team shift the palette toward Morandi tones: lower saturation, higher brightness. The recommendation carried through to the next generation's color refresh, where the two original signature colors were replaced with a new, lower-saturation palette.
The colors built for the ad were gone. In their place were colors built for the people riding them.
05
Results
Once the new colors launched, both outsold the colors they replaced over a comparable sales period. The two also split clearly by age: younger customers leaned toward one, slightly older customers toward the other.
The quieter colors didn't just suit our customers better. They sold better.
2-3%
15%